Deputy PM to rule on tower block near synagogue

Plans for a 43-storey tower block near the UK’s oldest synagogue in continuous use are to be assessed by the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner after the government stepped in to prevent the local authority granting approval. 

An application to construct the office block a short distance from the Grade I-listed Bevis Marks Synagogue is due to go before the City of London Corporation’s Planning Committee next month.

However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has restricted the granting of permission by the corporation, to allow the government to consider the case.

Rabbi Shalom Morris of Bevis Marks Synagogue, which was founded in 1701, said he "welcomed the intervention".

He added: "The future of Bevis Marks Synagogue is now very much on the national agenda, as befits its Grade I-listed status and its historic role in British Jewry.”

The government's issuing of an Article 31 Holding Direction does not prevent the committee from reviewing the application or indicating its view, nor does it prevent members from refusing it but means the government wants to scrutinise the application before it can be approved.

Under developer Welput’s proposal, Bury House would be demolished to enable a 43-storey office tower to be built in its place.

The Grade II-listed Holland House and Renown House would also be part-demolished and redeveloped, delivering new community and cultural opportunities alongside the workspace.

Since its submission, the proposal has drawn more than 1,300 objections due to concerns over the impact on the synagogue.

A taller 48-storey proposal for the site was refused by the City of London Corporation in 2021.

Historic England has described the current submission as worse than the rejected plans due to its impact on the Tower of London and the Grade II-listed Holland House.

The UK’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, is among those to have aired concerns about Welput’s proposed scheme, with historians Sir Simon Schama, Tom Holland and Simon Sebag Montefiore also objecting to the plans.

Having anticipated the intervention, Welput said it was "ready to present the compelling attributes of our proposal to the secretary of state".

A spokesperson added: “It is our steadfast commitment to maintaining an open and co-operative dialogue with all community stakeholders, including the Bevis Marks Synagogue, and to continue exploring constructive solutions that bring this exciting community-driven project to fruition.”

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